Dog-friendly activities on the Gold Coast
HOW paw-some! There’s plenty of places you can enjoy the fabulous Gold Coast with your four-legged friends. From dog beaches to cafes, yoga and even a shopping centre. Here’s 9 of the best!
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HOW paw-some! There’s plenty of places you can enjoy the fabulous Gold Coast with your four-legged friends. From dog beaches to cafes, yoga and even a shopping centre. Here’s 9 of the best!
Aqua Dogs Jetty Jump
All Paws Paradise
324 Pimpama-Jacobs Well Road, Pimpama
America has its Ultimate Air Dogs — where pooches from around the country dive off docks in front of cheering crowds to win prizes, prestige and treat — now the Gold Coast has its own canine aqua sports arena.
All Paws Paradise at Pimpama has the only specialist jetty jumping facility in Queensland, giving dogs the chance to indulge their water lust and test their athletic prowess.
Owner and dog trainer Angela Burke officiates jetty jumping events twice a year in the purpose-built 12m doggie pool, based on American dock jumping protocols.
“We have a competition-size pool and a jetty,” Angela says.
“The event grows every year and we get anywhere from 10 to 30 dogs.”
Before you picture the chaos that could ensue, rest assured there is an organised program of events including the classic doggie long jump where each launch into the pool is measured to determine a winner.
In the rapid retrieve, dogs compete for the fastest retrieval of an item from the pool, while the sky high sees dogs leap skyward to reach a bumper placed at a fixed height above and beyond the jetty.
In the US, doggie dock jumping can be serious business attracting hundreds of spectators, launching doggie careers and attracting pet food company sponsorships, but that’s not quite the vibe here.
“It’s a fantastic, cool way to exercise your dogs: running, jumping, swimming and toys,” Angela says. “What more could a dog want?”
The only requirement for giving your dog a test run is that they need to be able to swim. Angela and her trusty dog-loving coaching team will teach them the rest.
Pizzey Park
Pizzey Drive, Miami (behind the tennis courts)
Dog beaches are all very pleasant but Pizzey Park offers an alternative forested setting for doggie exercise sessions, complete with freshwater lake and a fully fenced agility area.
Local dogs know there is no greater pleasure than ferreting through layers of pine needles before taking a tranquil dog paddle amid the ducks and water fowls.
There’s also a walking circuit around the lake, waste bags supplied and a steady supply of other canines enjoying the fresh air.
BEST DOG-FRIENDLY CAFES ON THE COAST
Q Super Centre
Corner Bermuda & Markeri Streets, Mermaid Waters
There are not too many shopping centres that welcome dogs with open arms but Q is a canine-friendly, outdoor shopping destination dotted with water bowls, waste bags and places to safely tie your pooch if you need to duck into a shop.
Centre manager Simeon Clerke says there are more than 55,000 registered dogs on the Coast and it makes sense to cater for them.
“Our customers love that their dogs are welcome,” he says.
“We run a lot of doggie promotions and often have dogs and their owners popping into our centre management office just to say hello.”
Last year’s hotly-contested Doggie Face of Q title, currently held by Elvis the Australian shepherd, attracted 931 entries.
Keep an eye out for this year’s competition.
Raw Espresso
Corner Ferry Road and Meron Street, Southport
As well as serving a great coffee and gourmet wholesome fare, it’s a prerequisite for staff at Raw Espresso to be crazy dog lovers.
There is much love poured into the doggie menu at Raw featuring healthy, housemade dog biscuits and yoghurt bites.
The piece de resistance though is the doggie sundae made with a coconut-based peanut butter ice cream flavoured with chunks of bacon and coconut, topped with crumbled doggie biscuits and bacon bits.
Manager Brittany Berzins says dogs go crazy for it.
“The owner Mark Fannin loves dogs,” she says.
“We all love dogs here. It’s an outdoor cafe so not only do we cater for them, we love having them. They make our day.”
The Spit
End of Seaworld Drive, Main Beach
This is not the place to picnic, sunbake or read a book.
The Spit dog beach is where dogs rule and their loyal subjects are expected to throw, frolic and bound along with them.
If there is a doggie heaven, this is pretty much what it would look like: lots of fresh air and open space, sand for digging, water for swimming, humans for serving and lots of other dogs for wrestling — and sniffing.
Pawsh — the Organic & Natural Pet Spa
3/2572 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach
There are dog groomers and then there are organic and natural pet spas.
Pawsh owner Ashleigh Harris worked in dog grooming salons for 16 years and wanted her own business to put dogs first.
“We’re cage-free, we don’t use restraints and we try to give a personal service to every dog — and their owners,” she says.
Pawsh’s treatments are all natural, organic and chemical-free.
Fridays have become something of a cavoodle convention with a regular group who enjoy playtime amid their organic shampoos and style cuts.
Pawsh also has a day care service for dogs who don’t like staying home by themselves.
Parcbah Espresso
4/19 Alicia Street, Southport
While some cafes may tolerate dogs under outdoor tables, perhaps even put a bowl of water out, Parcbah takes it a step further, offering a fine selection of doggie delicacies.
Owner Todd Cawe says he didn’t plan for Parcbah to be a doggie cafe but when you’re situated across from a popular dog park, it just happens.
As well as great coffee and a fine human menu, Parcbah stocks Paw-A-Licious dog treats, handmade by a local 13-year-old who’s been supplying to the cafe for three years.
There’s also Hugo’s doggie ice cream or, perhaps, the house bacon juice thickened with agar-agar agar-agar.
“This is a big doggie area,” Todd says.
“There is a large group of regulars who meet every morning and again in the afternoon so they and their dogs can exercise and socialise. It’s nice to be part of it.”
Hot Tropical Yoga
1B/30 Griffith Street, Coolangatta
Oh, the stress of being a dog in the modern world.
For pooches needing a bit of stretching, relaxation, meditation and massage, yogi Michelle Baldwin has been running her doggie yoga, or doga, classes for seven years.
“We’ve got dogs and their owners who come every week,” she says.
“There are so many benefits in reducing anxiety, socialising, exercising and we do a few tricks too.” (Dogs as well.)
Michelle and her dogi Max meet participants outside the Hot Tropical Yoga studio at 9am every Sunday and walk to the park together for a 45 session.
“You can definitely tell the difference before and after the class,” she says.
“The dogs are calmer and happier and they’ve had some great alternative exercise.” (Humans as well.)
And — the ultimate in good karma — all proceeds from the classes go to the Animal Welfare League.
Palm Beach Parklands
945 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach
This stretch of dog beach runs from the northern end of the beach behind Palm Beach Parklands to the entrance of Currumbin Creek.
It gives your dog the choice of wave action or still water, or a splash in both.
This is the place to spot dogs being ferried on stand-up paddleboards or enjoying the green room on shortboards — OK, perhaps more of the former.
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